The present invention generally relates to the field of information handling systems, and particularly to battery powered wireless communications systems.
Advents in electronics and battery technologies have resulted in a proliferation of wireless communications devices. Wireless communications devices are typically powered from a battery contained within the device. Eventually, all batteries run low due to continued use of the wireless device. Since batteries exhibit behavior which varies from charge cycle to charge cycle and over the life of the battery, and because wireless devices typically have varying current requirements depending upon the conditions under which they are utilized, it is often difficult to detect exactly when battery capacity will fall to level at which operation of the wireless device fails. Often, a battery will fail in the middle of an operation or task that the wireless device is performing thereby causing termination of wireless communications between the wireless device and a remote device or user. In this situation, the remote device or user receives no warning that communications are about to be disrupted or the reason why communications have been disrupted. Often, the remote device or user attempts to re-establish the connection to the wireless device to no avail since the battery in the wireless device is dead.
Prior systems that monitor battery power typically provide either an audio or visual warning signal only to the user of the wireless device upon detection of a low battery state. If the warning signal is a visual signal, e.g., a blinking light or LED, it is difficult to see the warning light when the wireless device is placed out of sight, for example when a telephone is placed to the ear during use. Furthermore, a user may ignore an audio warning signal when the focused upon another task such as an engaging conversation. In any event, only the user of the wireless device is warned of the low battery status condition, but the remote device or user is not warned. Additionally, prior systems provide no way for maintaining the connection while the user of the wireless device solved the low battery status situation, e.g., replaced the depleted battery with a fresh battery or utilized an alternative device. Thus, there lies a need for a system and method of notifying a remote user or device of a low battery status condition in a wireless device and for maintaining communications between the base station of a user""s wireless device and the remote user or device while the low battery status condition situation is addressed and corrected.
The present invention is directed to a system for notifying a remote device of a low battery capacity condition in a wireless communications system. In one embodiment of the invention, the system includes a wireless device receiving operational power from a battery, the wireless device communicating with the remote device, a detector coupled to the battery for detecting a low battery capacity condition of the battery, the detector generating a low battery capacity status signal upon detecting a low battery capacity condition of the battery, and a control system coupled to the detector for receiving the low battery capacity status signal from the detector, the control system sending the low battery capacity status signal generated by the detector to the remote device, the control system maintaining communications between the wireless device and the remote device during the low battery capacity condition.
The present invention is further directed to a method for notifying a remote device of a low battery capacity condition in a wireless device communicating with the remote device. In one embodiment of the invention, the method includes the steps of monitoring the capacity of the battery whereby a low capacity condition may be detected, upon detecting a low capacity condition of the battery, sending a low battery capacity status signal to the remote device, and while the battery is in a low battery capacity condition, maintaining communications between a base station for the wireless device and a remote device until the low battery capacity condition is corrected.
It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.